Method of and means for treating veneered sheets



Oct. 14, 1930. ELMENDQRF 1,778,251

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR TREATING VENEERED SHEETS Filed April l0 v 1929 2Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 14, 1930.

A. ELMENDORF METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR TREATING VENEERED SHEETS FiledApril 10, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 veneer will Patented Oct. 14, 1930UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ABMIN ELMENDORE'OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,ASSIGNOR TO THE FLEXWOOD' COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATIONOF DELAWARE METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR TREATING VENEERED SHEETS Applicationfiled April 10,

In my prior application, Serial No. 334,-

' 865, filed January 24, 1929, I have disclosed a novel materialcomprising a flexible backing faced with thinwood veneer whose structurehas been broken down to such an extent that the veneer will have notendency, when dry, to curl up. I The present invention has for itsobject to make it possible rapidly and at a small cost to treat thesheet so that the possess the aforesaid characteristic.

The treatment of the veneer to place it in a condition such that it willhave no tendency to curl under moisture and temperature changes-or, inother words, to render it limp, because of the frail character of theveneer, can best be effected after the veneer has been glued to itsbacking. Therefore, viewed in one of its aspects, the present inventionmay be said to have for its object rapidly and economically to treat aflexible material faced with thin wood veneer so as to render the veenerlimp or, in other words, destroy its capacity for curling, withoutmarring the appearance of the surface of the veneer when the product islaid flat.

In carrying out my invention, beginning at one end of thesheet, I'stressthe exposed faces of successive narrow strips extending in the generaldirection of the grain, one after another, past the rupture point;bringing about a progressive partial disintegration of the veneerthroughout the entire area of the sheet. This may conveniently be doneby bending the sheet over an edge extending in the general direction .ofthe grain of the veneer, with the backing next to the edge, andproducing a relative movement between the sheet and the edge, across thegrain. The face of the veneer may be left exposed during the process,but a more uniform effect is obtained by maintaining on the face of theveneer, at the bend, a pressure that is more or less radial over theentire bent area.

tained on the face of each narrow section of 1929. Serial No. 353,952.

veneer while the latter is undergoing partial disintegration.

Viewed in another of its aspects, the present invention may be said tohave for its object to produce a simple and novel machine by means ofwhich a sheet composed of a flexible backing and a facing of wood veneermay be successfully treated, at a low cost, to render the veneer limp.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterizedwill hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but,for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects andadvantages, reference may be had to the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine for carrying out myinvention, parts being broken away; Fig. 2 is an end view of themachine: Fig. 8 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 1'; Fig. 4 is a sectionon the same plane as Fig. 3, but on a larger scale, showing a fragmentof the machine; Fig. 5 is a view on an enlarged scale showing more orless diagrammaticallythe manner in which the sheet is stressed; and Fig.6 is an end View of a modified form of the machine.

Referring to Fig. 5, A represents a sheet of strong flexible materialfaced with a layer B of Wood veneer. C is a cushion, preferably ofrubber. E is a blade-like bar that may be called an edge. If the sheet,consisting of the united layers A and B, with the grain of the woodextending transversely of'the sheet, is laid against the cushion withthe veneer next to the latter, and the cushion and the edge are movedrelatively toward each other so that the cushion must vield, acomparatively sharp bend will be formed in the sheet. In other words,the sheet will be bent more or less sharply over the edge, causing theface of the veneer, extending entirely across the sheet, to be stressedacross the grain beyond the rupture point. If the sheet were simplyforcibly bent over the edge without the presence of the cushion, theveneer might simply split wide open along amore or less irregular line,continuous or otherwise, along the'grain. However, my purpose brakesclosely spaced; it being immaterial whether the veneer be split throughits entire thickness or only for a fraction of its thickness inwardlyfrom the outer face. By providinga cushion which, while yieldable,offers considerable resistance to compression, the face of the veneerthroughout the area that curves over the edge is yieldingly held and issubjected'to pressures more or less normal to the surface. The result isthat the veneer will split in such a manner as not to form wide cracks.If now the sheet is moyed lengthwise a short distance, either while the'edge is held back, clear of the sheet or while it is pressing thesheetinto the cushion, the bend or wave in the sheet will be shifted,bringing a fresh area opposite the edge. Thus, if the edge has remainedin its working position or is brought back into the position, this newarea will be ruptured. Assum- 1n that the sheet is being moved upwardlyin ig. 5, the area opposite the edge will have the veneer face visiblysplit as indicated by the more or less radial lines I). As the sheetpasses upwardly and straightens out again, the breaks in the veneerwill'close so as not to be visible.

In Figs. 1 t0'4 there is shown a machine for carrying out the processjust described, by means of a blade or edge that moves rapidly betweenan idle and a Working position. Furthermore, I have provided two bladesor edges so that the veneer may be said to be processed twice.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, 1 and 2 represent two endframe members, and 3 a top connecting piece between the same. Betweenthe ends of the frame and at some distance below'the top member 3, is aroll 4 covered with a cushioning layer O of rubber. Behind the roll 4are two feed rolls 5 and 6. In front of the 1 011 4 is another pair offeed rolls 7 and 8. The sheet to be operated upon, indicated atAB,'passes between the feed rolls 5 and 6, over the top of theroll 4 anddown between the feed rolls 7 and 8.

A horizontal shaft 9, parallel with'theseveral rolls, is journallddnsuitable brackets 0r hangers 10 on the underside of the top frame member3. .Below the shaft 9 are two parallel shafts 11 and12, one on each sideof a vertical plane containing the long aXis of the shaft. 9. Fixed tothe shaftsll and 121 are L-shaped brackets each having an up per arm 13and a lower arm 14; The brackets on one shaft are arranged oppositethose on the other shaft. The upper end of each up-' per bracket arm isfastened'to the upper end of the corresponding opposite armby 'a spring15; the parts being so proportioned that the springs lie above the shaft9. The lower arms of each set of brackets are connected together by barsor blades E corresponding to the edge E previously referred to. On theshaft 9 arecams 16 engaged by cam rollers 17 on the upper arms of thebrackets. The parts are so proportioned that when the cams are in thepositions shown in Figs. 3 and 4, they press the upper arms of each pairof :brackets apart, forcing the members E down into the cushioning layeron the underlying roll. However, when the shaft 9 is turned through anangle of 180, the springs come into play, drawing together the upperends of each pair of brackets and raising the members E from the roll.

It will be seen that if the shaft 9 is rotated rapidly, while theroll 4is turned slowly, the work will be carried first under one edge memberand then under the other, being progressively waved under the first edgemember and then again under the second. The surface of the veneer willbe broken into narrow filaments as the sheet travels under the firstedge. By properly adjusting the a worm wheel 24 on the shaft 25 thatcarries a I the roll 8. The rolls 7 and 8 are caused to rotate in unisonwith each other and in opposite directions, by means of inter-meshingspur gears 26 and 27, on the roller shafts 25 and 28 respectively. It.will thus be seen that when the motor is running, the rolls 7 and 8will serve slowly to draw the sheet over the roll 4, the sheet servingas a belt to drive the latter roll. The shaft 9 is rotating at a veryhigh speed compared to that of the feed rolls,

-so that the edge members strike rapid blows on the work. Since thesheet cannot move very far between blows of the'edge members,

the lines across the sheet on which the blows are struck'will be closelyspaced.

. The shaft 30 that carries the main roll 4 is preferably mounted invertically adjustable bearings-31, thereby permitting the roll to beadjusted up and down in order to vary the depth to which the sheet ispressed into the gushion surface of the roll by the edge memers.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated a machine in which the edge member isstationary. Referring to this figure, 35 represents a suitable framestructure in the top of which is mounted a roll 36 having a cushioninglayer C covering the same. Below and on opposite sides of the roll 36are rolls 37, 37. The sheet A B passes up under the left hand roll 37,across the top of the roll 36 and-down underneath -members E are fixedto the frame on opposite sides of the roll 36; the distance between themembers E being less than the overall diameter of the cushioned roll, sothat these mem bers press into the cushions. Consequently the sheet, inorder to pass by the edge members, must take a sharp bend at each edgemember. In other words, as the sheet is drawn ahead there is formedtherein at the first edge member a wave that travels progressively alongthe sheet. The process is repeated atthe second edge member.

I do not wish to limit myself to any particular degree of fineness inthe disintegra tion of the veneer because for some uses the breaks maybe farther apart than for others.

It is possible, however, by making the radius of an edge over which thesheet is drawn small, to produce breaks that will be an average distanceof a thirty second of an inch or less apart. By passing the sheetsuccessively over two such edges a very complete breaking down of theveneer may be effected without, however leaving any visible breaks inthe surface when the sheet is laid flat.

I claim 1. The method of making pliable a sheet composed of a flexiblebacking faced with wood veneer, which consists in partiallydisintegrating the veneer by tearing or splitting the same along thegrain to divide the face thereof into inany narrow filaments.

2..The method of treating a sheet composed of a flexible backing facedwith wood veneer, which consists in laying the backing against an edgeextending in the general di-. rection of the grain inthe wood andplacing a rubber cushion against the veneer, and applying suflicientpressure to cause rubber tcl be compressed and bend the sheet over saide ge.

3. The method of treating a sheet composed of a flexible backing facedwith wood veneer, which consists in moving the sheet past an edgeextending in the general direction of the grain in the wood and lyingbehind the backing, and pressing a yieldable cushion against the veneeropposite said edge in order forcibly to bend the sheet over said edge.

4. The method of treating a sheet composed of a flexible backin facedwith wood veneer, which consists in aying the veneer side of the sheetagainst a cushion, and progressively waving the sheet along linesextending in the general direction of the grain by pressing it forciblyinto the cushion.

5. The method of treating a sheet composed ofa flexible backing facedwith wood veneer, which consists in moving it transversely of the grainof the wood between an overlying cushion and an underlying edgeextending in the general direction of the grain, and causing said edgeforcibly to press one narrow strip after another into the cushrupturepoint.

ion far enough to stress the veneer past the 6. The method of treating asheet composed of a flexible backing faced with wood veneer, whichconsists in laying the sheet, face down, on and moving it in unison witha 1'0- tating roll covered with yieldable rubber and extending in thegeneral direction of the grain in the veneer, and forcibly pressing thesheet into the rubber along a line extending grain as it is in thegeneral direction of the carried past a given point.

7. The method of treating a sheet composed of a'flexible backingfacedwith wood veneer, which consists in laying the sheet,

face down, on and moving it in unison with a rotating roll, covered withyieldable rubber and extending in the general direction of the grain inthe veneer, and pressing an edge extending in the general direction ofthe grain against the sheet so as to bend it and force it into therubber in passing a given point. 8. In a machine for the purposespecified, a roll having a cushioned surface, and an edge member besideand parallel with the roll for forcing a sheet into the roll as thesheet is carried along with the roll.

9. In a machineof the character described, a roll covered with yieldablerubber, and

means for forcing a flexible sheet carried rubber or the like, a memberhaving an edge extending lengthwise of the roll,means for drawing asheet over the roll between the roll and said member, and means forrapidly operating said member from and toward the roll, the parts beingso proportioned that said member forces the sheet into the cushion whensaid member is moved toward the roll.

12. The method of treating a sheet composed of a flexible backing facedwith wood veneer, which consists in movin it transversely of thegrain ofthe wood etween an overlying cushion and an underlying edge extending inthe general direction of the grain, and causing said edge forcibly topress one narrow strip after another into the cushion far enough tostress the face of the veneer past the rupture point.

13.. The method of treatinga sheet composed of a flexible backing facedwith wood veneer, which consists in laying the sheet, face down,.on andmoving it in unison with a rotating roll covered with a yielding cushionand extending in the general direction of the grain in the veneer, andforcibly pressing the sheet into the cushion alonga line extend ing inthe general direction of the grain as it i is carried past a givenpoint. 5 14. In a machine of the character described,- a yieldablecushion, an edge member parallel thereto and means to produce relativemovements between the said member and the cushion to cause a flexiblesheet lying on the cush- 10 ion to travel past said member and bepressed into the cushion thereby so as progressively to wave the sheetas the sheet and said member move relatively to each other lengthwise ofthe sheet. 15. In a machine of the character described a roll coveredwith yieldable material, and means for forcing a flexible sheet carriedalong with the roll into the roll along a line extending lengthwise ofthe roll as the sheet moves past a given point. In testimony whereof, Isign this specification.

ARMIN ELNHENDORF.

